A Moving Sight (Please Read On!)

Time flew by, and a month passed.

On top of the already completed palace in Kumu Street.

Gilgamesh looked at the people gathered outside the palace and proclaimed loudly, "In the name of Gilgamesh, I hereby declare that a kingdom is founded here today. Its name is Uruk!"

The people outside the palace erupted in cheers upon hearing Gilgamesh's declaration.

Amid the clamor, they shouted at the tops of their lungs.

"King!"

"Uruk!"

This was destined to be a sleepless night for Uruk.

Across the lands of Inuzuri and Tobiume, cheers, joyful cries, and shouts rose and fell without end.

People began singing and dancing, celebrating Uruk's founding in their own way and praising Gilgamesh's greatness.

At that moment, every face was alight with joy.

Some people even began to cry as they laughed.

Before Gilgamesh appeared, they had been like walking corpses, living day after day in a place where poverty, backwardness, chaos, and death intertwined—a life worse than death.

They had been like fallen leaves drifting in the wind, with no direction, no hope, no one to rely on, and no home to return to.

Their hearts had grown numb, encased in the ice of despair.

Then, in the midst of all this, Gilgamesh appeared. Like sunlight from the heavens, he broke through their despair and melted the ice covering their hearts.

Their hearts began to beat again, growing warm once more.

Hope, vitality, and smiles—things they had never dared imagine before—gradually entered their lives.

Now, the founding of the Kingdom of Uruk had given them a place to belong, a home to return to.

The feeling of finally coming home struck a deep chord in their hearts.

They knew that from this day forward, they would no longer be homeless souls.

Of course, they knew that Gilgamesh had given them all of this.

So they thanked, respected, worshipped, and cherished Gilgamesh from the bottom of their hearts. They cherished their king.

That night, Renji Abarai and Rukia let loose completely, singing, dancing, and laughing with the people.

Even the temporary construction workers who had come from the Omaeda Clan couldn't help being swept up in the festivities and joining the revelers.

They had witnessed Inuzuri and Tobiume grow from nothing, step by step, into what they were now.

They had also seen how the people of Inuzuri and Tobiume had changed.

Because of this, their respect and admiration for Gilgamesh was no longer limited to his architectural talent.

Gilgamesh's personal charisma had completely won them over, making them consider staying more than once.

But each of them still had ties elsewhere, whether family, a lover, or friends.

So they could only force down the desire to stay.

But now, they cast everything else aside and gave themselves over to their joy.

On top of the palace, Gilgamesh watched his people singing and dancing below, feeling thoroughly pleased.

Beside him, Yoruichi Shihouin, in her black cat form, lay quietly against the terrace railing. As she watched the lively scene below, a look of emotion crossed her face, along with a sense of pride.

Yoruichi Shihouin had already given her heart to him, so the more dazzling Gilgamesh became, the happier she was.

Gilgamesh had taken a seat at a stone table nearby. He turned to Yoruichi Shihouin and invited her, "Today is a day worth celebrating. Mr. Black Cat, come have a drink with me."

Yoruichi Shihouin came to the opposite side of the table and looked up at him with her feline face. "Sure, but it seems we don't have any alcohol. I don't remember there being anywhere to buy it in Inuzuri."

Gilgamesh smiled faintly, and a golden ripple appeared beside him.

Yoruichi Shihouin was already familiar with Gilgamesh's method of summoning Golden Ripples and assumed it was the ability of his Zanpakuto.

She just didn't understand why Gilgamesh had summoned Golden Ripples. What did that have to do with drinking?

As Yoruichi Shihouin looked on in confusion, an ancient-looking wooden wine barrel emerged from the golden ripple and slowly settled on the ground.

After the barrel, two exquisite golden goblets appeared from the golden ripple and landed on top of it.

Yoruichi Shihouin froze.

The barrel hadn't even been opened, yet she could already catch a faint whiff of rich wine.

Yoruichi Shihouin knew the wooden barrel held fine wine—and a rare vintage, no less.

Though the rich aroma was only faint, it had already whetted the appetite of someone who had tasted countless wines. She couldn't help swallowing.

She had no idea why a wooden wine barrel had appeared from the golden ripple, but that didn't matter anymore.

As Gilgamesh opened the long-sealed barrel, a rich, full-bodied aroma wafted over them.

Just the smell made Yoruichi Shihouin feel a little tipsy. She could hardly imagine how good the wine must taste.

When Gilgamesh held the goblet out to her, Yoruichi Shihouin instinctively reached for it with a paw, wanting to pick it up and drain it in one go.

But she quickly realized that her paw couldn't hold the goblet. With her craving for wine already stirred, Yoruichi Shihouin stopped caring and dispelled her transformation.

As a cloud of smoke billowed up, Gilgamesh saw a graceful, tall figure appear within it.

"Glug!"

"Ah, that's the stuff! What a fine wine!"

A bold female voice rang out as the smoke dissipated.

Before Gilgamesh stood a stunning beauty with dusky skin and a tall, graceful figure. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she wore nothing at all.

The beauty was, of course, Yoruichi Shihouin.

She held a goblet in one hand and rested the other on her hip, standing with her feet apart. Her face wore the blissful expression of someone enjoying fine wine.

Because of her stance, Gilgamesh could see everything clearly.

But his expression didn't change. His deep, wine-red eyes held only appreciation, as if he were admiring a beautiful work of art.

If his body weren't so young, Gilgamesh wouldn't have minded taking the opportunity to share a pleasant moment with her.

Aside from Gilgamesh and Yoruichi Shihouin, there was no one else on the palace terrace.

Nor could anyone outside the palace see what was happening on the terrace.

Seeing Yoruichi Shihouin about to have another drink, Gilgamesh sipped his wine and said, "I think you should put some clothes on before having another drink."

As he spoke, Gilgamesh's wine-red eyes, still filled with appreciation, turned to Yoruichi Shihouin again. He continued, "Of course, if you don't want to get dressed, that's fine too. I don't mind continuing to enjoy this moving sight."

Yoruichi Shihouin froze for a moment, then followed Gilgamesh's gaze and looked down.

The moment she saw herself, her face flushed with embarrassment, and her heart began to race. She immediately used Flash Step to flee.

Gilgamesh's delighted laughter rang in her ears, making Yoruichi Shihouin's heart pound even faster.

Yoruichi Shihouin didn't know what had come over her. She had never really cared about this sort of thing before, so why was she so flustered now?

After Yoruichi Shihouin left, Gilgamesh slowly stood up and walked to the terrace railing with his goblet.

Watching the jubilant scene outside the palace, Gilgamesh raised his goblet and took a sip. "Uruk is now relatively stable. It's about time I went to Shin'o Academy."